Alabama: Leaving the Hill

Lister Hill was born to his role as the nation's most effective advocate of public health legislation. Son of one of the South's foremost physicians, the courtly Alabaman was named after the English surgeon Joseph Lister. After entering the Senate in 1938, the eight-term Congressman focused his energies on medical problems. As a member and since 1955 chairman of the Labor and Public Welfare Committee, he helped forge the nation's public health programs, most notably through the Hill-Burton Act, which has provided federal funds for 8,000 hospitals and health clinics. Last week Democrat Hill, 73, announced that he would retire when his current term ends in January 1969. Former Lieutenant Governor James Allen has already announced for the old New Dealer's seat.